Lifetime picks up doctor-assisted suicide drama “Mary Kills People”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Lifetime is taking edgy to a whole new level. The female-skewing cable network has picked up a straight-to-series Canadian drama about doctor-assisted suicide, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

From Entertainment One and Rookie Blue creator Tassie Cameron, Mary Kills People is a six-episode project created by Tara Armstrong that will be paired with UnREAL in 2017. Caroline Dhavernas (Hannibal, Wonderfalls) stars as a doctor who helps people in need end their lives with dignity. The series was originally commissioned by Canadian outlet Global earlier this year with the drama set to debut there in January.

Jay Ryan (Top of the Lake), Richard Short (Vinyl), Lyriq Bent (The Book of Negroes), Greg Bryk (Bitten) and Charlotte Sullivan (Rookie Blue) round out the cast.

"As UnREAL drives Lifetime’s position as a destination for some of the strongest female characters on television, we are thrilled to add to our growing scripted lineup Mary Kills People, a unique, rich drama with elements of humor and a fascinatingly complex protagonist that we are thrilled to feature on our network,” Lifetime executive vp and head of programming Liz Gateley said Thursday in a statement announcing the acquisition.

Here's the official series description: Single mother Mary Harris (Dhavernas) is an ER doctor by day, but by night, she and her partner, a former plastic surgeon, moonlight as underground angels of death and help terminally ill patients slip away on their own terms. So far Mary has managed to stay under the radar; but death is hot, business is booming and her double life is getting complicated. When her world starts to unravel, Mary realizes she’s going to have to fight dirty if she’s going to stay in the killing game.

Cameron, who next has ABC straight-to-series drama Ten Days in the Valley starring Kyra Sedgwick, will produce the eOne and Corus drama via her Cameron Pictures. Exec producers include Amy Cameron (The Book of Negroes), Jocelyn Hamilton (Private Eyes) and Tecca Crosby (Private Eyes). Holly Dale (The Americans) will serve as co-executive producer and direct all of season one. Creator Armstrong (Private Eyes) will be credited as a co-exec producer and writer. Additional writers include Marsha Greene (Private Eyes), Sherry White (Rookie Blue) and Mike Goldbach (Down a Dark Hall).

Mary Kills People gives Lifetime a companion series to air alongside the upcoming third season of its critical hit UnREAL and comes as the cable network is looking for more originals. It recently canceled Devious Maids and has a handful of pilots in the works, but does not have another original scripted entry.